Sears Roebuck was instrumental in aiding county Farm Bureaus by offering $1000 grants to allow them to begin work throughout the county. By 1913, it was clear that there was a need for a statewide association, so on July 1, 1913, county advisors convened in Pontiac, Illinois, to discuss problems and experiences. By December of 1913, in Champaign, Illinois, the statewide association was created and named the Illinois Association of County Agriculturalists. By mid-1914, the association was up from just four to thirteen members. Soon, the Illinois Association of County Agriculturalists was changed to what we know today, the Illinois Agricultural Association. In 1916, Herman Danforth was elected as the first IAA president. There were 13 charter members to the IAA that hailed from Adams, Bureau, Champaign, DeKalb, Iroquois, LaSalle, Livingston, Macon, Mason, McLean, Tazewell, Will and Woodford counties. The American Farm Bureau Federation was formed on November 12, 1919, in Chicago, Illinois. At the 1922 Illinois Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, it was decided that it was necessary for the organization to improve "net farm income." Over the next 20 years, IFB would become a "system of statewide cooperatives, insurance companies, and other agriculture-related businesses" that were created to ensure certain services that met the needs of Illinois farmers were available at an affordable price. References External links Illinois Farm Bureau website American Farm Bureau Federation Organizations based in Illinois 1916 establishments in Illinois